MEP: The US is ready and “totally” able to tackle the North Korean threat with or without the help of China, the US President told the Financial Times, indicating that Washington will use the “trade” lever to push Beijing into exerting greater pressure on Pyongyang.
“If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will. That is all I am telling you,” he said in an interview with UK newspaper the Financial Times.
“China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don’t it won’t be good for anyone,” Trump was quoted as saying, according to an edited transcript published by the newspaper.
Trump said he had “great respect” for President Xi Jinping and “great respect for China”, adding, “I would not be at all surprised if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries and I hope so.”
He warned that if China doesn’t use its influence on Pyongyang, it won’t be good.
Asked how he would tackle North Korea, Trump said: “I’m not going to tell you. You know, I am not the United States of the past where we tell you where we are going to hit in the Middle East.”
Trump will host the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on Thursday and Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where the two leaders are expected to discuss North Korea, China’s ambitions in the South China Sea and trade. There is speculation that North Korea could conduct another nuclear missile test to coincide with the talks.
China didn’t respond to Trump’s comments to the FT Monday, but issued a statement saying that Tillerson had phoned the country’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, about Xi’s visit.
According to the statement, Yang said the meeting was of “utmost importance in China-US relations” and was important for “promoting peace, stability and prosperity… for the whole world.”
Last week, two high-ranking US intelligence officials claimed that North Korea is capable of killing millions of Americans by launching a nuclear attack.
